Raleigh County · Beckley · population 16,515
Where Beckley stands
Averaging 7.1% annual growth over 5 years. population shrinking 1.1% per year.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent vs buy
At a 10.7 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Beckley on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 10.7 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →Beckley offers a $148,179 median home with +7.1% annualized 5-year appreciation. Affordability + positive trend is one of the better risk/reward setups in US residential — small downside, room to compound.
Beckley's population is shrinking 1.1% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.
About Beckley
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, with an estimated population of 16,515. The population has contracted 1.1% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Beckley is $148,179 as of 2026-04, down 2.4% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +7.1% annual growth (-3.1% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Beckley average $1,150 per month. The composite momentum score is 55 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.
▲ Bull case
▼ Bear case
Playbook
Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.
Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.
Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Raleigh County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Raleigh County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Cities like Beckley
Run the numbers for Beckley
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Beckley listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Beckley area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
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